1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to a materials handling system, and particularly to a system for handling strips of pocketed spring coils.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Pocketed spring coils have been used for upholstery purposes for a number of years. They are typically manufactured in strips wherein the axes of the respective coils are parallel to each other. The individual pockets have traditionally been formed by a stitching process, but more recently thermal welding has been employed where the pocket material has the necessary properties for allowing it. U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,983 is directed to a strip of pocketed coils wherein the coils are separated by a series of thermal welds. An assembly of suchs strips as part of a mattress is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,984.
When strips of pocketed coils emerge from an apparatus for manufacturing them, they traditionally have not been organized in any particular manner which would facilitate their subsequent handling. In other words, the strips have been allowed to accumulate into a substantially unorganized pile that is often difficult to handle when they are to be processed into structure suitable for upholstery.